Georgia Piedmont Technical College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgia Piedmont Technical College
GPTC logo new.svg
Former names
DeKalb Technical College, DeKalb Community College, DeKalb Area Vocational School
TypeCommunity Technical College
Established1961 (1961)[1]
Location
Clarkston
,
Georgia
,
United States
CampusMultiple campuses
ColorsRed, Yellow and Blue    
Websitehttp://www.gptc.edu/

Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC) is a technical college based in Clarkston, Georgia. It is part of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and provides education for a three-county service area, mostly in the metro Atlanta area. The school's service area includes Dekalb, Rockdale, and Newton counties.[1] GPTC is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate degrees, diplomas, and technical certificates of credit. Many of the school's individual technical programs are also accredited by their respective accreditation organizations. The College also offers free Adult Education courses for GED and HiSet test preparation and English as Second Language programming. Its Economic Development and Continuing Education division provides customized business and industry training to strengthen the workforce pipeline in Metro Atlanta. [2]

History[]

GPTC was first established in 1961 as DeKalb Area Vocational School. The college was initially organized in cooperation with the Vocational Division of the State Department of Education and operated by the DeKalb County Board of Education. DeKalb Technical College operated as a division and campus of Georgia Perimeter College (known then as Dekalb College) from 1972 to 1986, and as the post secondary unit of DeKalb County School System until June 30, 1996. On July 1, 1996, DeKalb Tech began operating as a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. In 2000, DeKalb Technical Institute's name was officially changed to DeKalb Technical College.[3]

The college enrolled its first class of 18 students in Electronics Technology in 1961. At that time, the college was in temporary quarters while the DeKalb Campus facility was under construction. The facility on North Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston opened in October 1963 and consists of five buildings, totaling 275,000 square feet of floor space.[3]

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education placed the college on heightened cash monitoring status, a status that places additional financial demands on the college as related to federal financial aid. Shortly thereafter, the college's system began investigating finances at the college. As a result, the college's president was fired and four other administrators placed on leave.[4]

Timeline[]

  • 1961: Founded as DeKalb Area Vocational School
  • 1963: New campus opens in Clarkston for 1300 students
  • 1970: Earned accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
  • 1972: Operated as a division of DeKalb Community College under the governance of the DeKalb County Board of Education
  • 1986: Separated from DeKalb Community College and operated as 'DeKalb Technical Institute, and Dr. Paul Starnes appointed as first president
  • 1988: Established Commercial Truck Driving program
  • 1996: Transitioned from County Governance to state governance under Georgia's technical college system
  • 1997: Construction of the Newton County campus in Covington completed
  • 1999: Purchase of Newton "D" Building on Bob Williams Parkway in Covington
  • 2000: Became DeKalb Technical College
  • 2004: Opening of learning center on Montreal Road, later renamed the Starnes Center and Dr. Robin Hoffmann named acting president (and later second president) of the college
  • 2008: Completed 78000 sf addition of classroom space and a conference center to the campus in Clarkston and begins working with the Rockdale Career Academy
  • 2011: Became Georgia Piedmont Technical College
  • 2012: Installed Dr. Jabari Simama as the third president of Georgia Piedmont Tech
  • 2014: Launched film and television production program to respond to the growing demand for workers in the film industry
  • 2015: Opened South DeKalb Campus–the third campus for the college–and was home to both the year's top technical education student (GOAL) and the top GED student (EAGLE) in the state
  • 2016: Environmental sustainability is realized at Georgia Piedmont through improved lighting, electric vehicles and charging stations, and tree planting
  • 2018: Installed Dr. Tavarez Holston as the fourth president of Georgia Piedmont Tech, and student Crystal Wright named as the top Technical College System of Georgia GOAL Student of the Year

Locations and programs[]

GPTC's primary campus is located in Clarkston, though the college also has a campus in Covington and nine centers of learning in DeKalb, Newton, and Rockdale counties. The school currently has more than 6,000 students enrolled in credit programs and more than 7,000 in adult education and continuing education classes. Academic and technical programs at GPTC cover more than 120 different occupations. There are more than 260 full-time members of the faculty and staff, and part-time faculty and staff number approximately 660. Georgia Piedmont Tech is aligned with the state’s strategic industries initiative that targets the unemployed, underemployed and those who do not have the proper academic and professional credentials to meet the standards of Georgia’s high-demand industries.[3]


References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b About Georgia Piedmont Technical College Archived 2011-12-06 at the Wayback Machine section of official GPTC website. Last accessed 2012-01-14.
  2. ^ Accreditations section Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine of official GPTC website
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Our Heritage and History Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine section of official GPTC website. Last accessed 2012-01-14.
  4. ^ Eric Stirgus (April 13, 2018). "Georgia Piedmont Tech College president being removed amid financial investigation". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 16, 2018.

Retrieved from ""